Every spot for Sew 'N Sweep's free "Stitch or Treat" Halloween night on Saturday, Oct. 17, is taken. All 30 slots were claimed well ahead of the event, making it the biggest event the sewing machine and vacuum shop in TownMall of Westminster has ever held.
"This is the largest event we've done," said Johannah Doll, who owns the store. Her title there is "Owner and Fabric Hoarder."
Most of the guests have never been customers. Liz Morin, whose title at the store is "Color Fabric Master," estimated about 90% of the people on the list are new to the store, and Doll checked.
"I looked up all of them," Doll said. "I'm like, 'Oh, all right, they've never spent a dime in the store! Cool, okay!'" Some are traveling from as far as Baltimore and Pennsylvania for the evening.
Sew 'N Sweep sells and repairs sewing machines from brands including Singer, Pfaff, Janome, Husqvarna Viking and Baby Lock. It also sells and services vacuums, carries quilting fabric and offers sewing classes.
The event is free, but registration was capped. "It's just we have to limit the spots because of space and staff," Morin said. The store is not taking walk-ins for the event.
Stations and a passport
"Stitch or Treat – A Haunted Makers Night" runs from 6 to 8 p.m. The store bills it as an evening for every skill level, including people who have never used a sewing machine, and says it is not a sales event.
Each guest gets a "Stitch or Treat Passport" and collects a stamp at each station. Five staff members are running the night, so guests will be split into small groups that rotate.
"It's just me, Liz, Kelly, Sue, and Jeremy running it," Doll said. "So we have to divide all 30-plus people up to each station... so that way it's not overwhelming."
The stations include:
A make-and-take project. In the store's classroom, guests will sew a personalized bookmark using decorative stitches on the store's machines. Morin said the staff skipped an embroidered project because of the numbers: "30 people on that machine would take a hot minute."
A blindfold guessing game. A representative for sewing-tool maker Clover, will have blindfolded guests try to identify sewing notions by touch. ("Notions" is the sewing term for small tools and supplies such as seam rippers, pins and thimbles.) "We're going to have a blindfold [game] where they guess the notion they're holding in their hand while being blindfolded... using their senses," Doll said. The representative will also demonstrate Clover tools.
A fabric preview. QT Fabrics will bring samples, including a Halloween fabric line due out next year.
An embroidery machine demonstration and a haunted sewing room photo area, according to the store's event page. The photo area is staged with vintage sewing machines, pumpkins, thread and fabric.
There will also be a costume contest. The store says costumes stitched from scratch, altered or simply store-bought are all welcome, though handmade ones are especially encouraged.
Two machines on demo
Guests will also see demonstrations of two machines: a special edition of the Janome Continental M6, and the Pfaff Creative Icon 3, a new sewing and embroidery machine.
The Janome had just arrived at the store. Its finish features artwork by Edyta Sitar, the quilt designer who founded Laundry Basket Quilts.
"The machine's not new, it's just a new design and package," Morin said. She explained it is "reskinned in the Laundry Basket Quilts design" and includes accessories the original didn't come with.
The machine sews up to 1,300 stitches per minute and has 400 built-in stitches. Doll demonstrated the feature she likes best: a button that magnetically pops up the plate over the bobbin so the area underneath can be cleaned.
"That's one of the big features that people love on that machine," Morin said.
Shaping future classes
Before finishing their passports, guests will be asked whether they're most interested in learning to sew, embroidery, quilting or machine upgrades. The store plans to use the answers to plan future classes, demonstrations and events.
The store already offers a range of classes. Its Basic Sewing 1 course runs five weeks, with students making a pincushion, pillowcase, apron and zipper bag on machines the store provides. Other offerings include quilting classes, a monthly machine embroidery club, and "Come Sew with Friends," a two-day open sewing session where people bring their own projects and work alongside others.
Minions, a ghost and a busy mall
Morin credited social media for the turnout. Promotion included TikTok and Instagram, live videos, and posts she shared publicly from her personal page into community Facebook groups. "I posted on all the Westminster pages, Sykesville, Hampstead, all of them," she said.
Several videos have a Halloween theme. In one "Bargain Bag" segment Morin dressed as a Minion, and a ghost mascot named Casper has been making the rounds of other businesses in the mall.
The season has brought more people through TownMall, which opened in 1987 as Cranberry Mall and took its current name in 2001. "There's definitely more foot traffic around the holidays, especially in the evenings and weekends," Morin said.
Doll said shoppers headed to Spirit Halloween have been wandering in. "Somebody even came in to have their picture taken with their kids in front of [our ghost display]," she said.
"They always love our little skeleton setup in the window, too," Morin added.
Next: a winter quilt show
Sew 'N Sweep plans another free event in early 2027: an in-store quilt show, likely called the Winter Quilt Show.
"In the start of 2027, we're going to be doing another in-store quilt show," Doll said. "We're probably going to call it the Winter Quilt Show, and that's another free event."
The format follows the store's summer show in July, which displayed more than 60 quilts. Quilters fill out a form and submit a quilt, and the quilts hang around the store for about a month. Nothing is judged.
"There's no standards for it... it's people that have made their first quilt all the way to people that are award-winning," Morin said.
"The biggest thing for that is just getting people inspired to want to sew," she said. "You get to see that you don't have to have an award-winning quilt, it's not a judged thing, you just get to have fun and enjoy all the creativity."
Learn more at www.sewnsweep.store.